NewRosshairdresserBridget Walshe– alifewelllived
Bridget (Biddy) Walshe, née Prendergast, was born on the quay in New Ross.
She was one of six children and lived her whole life in New Ross apart from two short periods when she attended Tullogher primary school, and later, a very happy time working as a hairdresser in Fermoy.
Her father Jimmy was the owner of Prendergast’s pub. She was particularly proud of the role he played in the War of Independence and her father imbued in her a deep sense of patriotism and love of country, which was lifelong.
She met and married Robbie Walshe, a widower and father of two girls Millie and Cora, and also the owner of Walshe’s hair salon (established 1932) on South Street, New Ross.
Robbie and Biddy went on to have six children - Margeret, Yvonne, Claire, John, Pauline and Bob. However Robbie sadly passed away at just 55 years old leaving Biddy a widow, and with the dual responsibilty of having not only to care for her six still very young children, but also the running of the business.
For many this would have been an insurmountable endeavour, but Biddy Walshe was a stalwart figure who not only rose to this challenge but rose to it like a phoenix. Biddy worked in Walshe’s salon all her life and managed it until she was in her mid seventies.
She continued to support the work there by making scones, washing towels and laying on lunch for her children still working there, long into her retirement. Each of her children worked there for a time, and her daughters Yvonne and Claire continue to run the business today in the family tradition.
Biddy was tireless and industrious not only in her professional life but in her family life also, a strong and dependable matriarch in her family, the mammy til the end. She was a figurehead not only for her children, but grandchildren and more recently her 15 great-grandchildren. Her 16th great-grandchild was born just a fortnight after her passing.
She was enthusiastic and interested in each and every old and new member of her family, the constant host, the companion and confidante of all who sat and passed time with her. She was strong willed and had clear opinions which she was never shy of expressing.
Biddy demonstrated a deep love for the youngest to the oldest in her family, and took joy from the arrival of each and every grandchild and great-grandchild. She shared with them a secure dependability but also a sense of mischief and fun, making each one feel noticed and cared for.
Her home was a family home, a hub for the ever expanding family and extended family and a tradition was to pack the house with children, in-laws, and the ever increasing brood of grandchildren and great-grandchildren in for a visit on Christmas morning. But also, at any time and on any day, there was constant comings and goings of visitors and family, making South Street a place to convene and connect for all. It was in the truest sense a family home.
Biddy will be missed by many in the community and significantly by her family, and her passing marks the end of an era, a segment of history, community and ancestery in the town of New Ross, certainly for those who knew and loved her.
Hers was a well lived life and a life lived well. She was surrounded by and was the orbital focus of her family right up until her passing. She aged both gracefully and reluctantly as Biddy felt young in mind all her life. Bridget, Biddy, wife, mother..... Mammy, Granny and Great Granny, dearly remembered and missed, would have been 91 years old on the day of her funeral. She lived a good life, a hard working life, a life with strong and loving family values.
Rest in peace.